Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to complete our presentation.
I am a strategic advisor with the Stingray Group, which is a member of the Independent Broadcasters Group, the IBG. I am here with Joel Fortune, legal counsel to the IBG.
The group supports Bill C-10 but requests that it be amended before it is adopted. The bill gives the CRTC the necessary authority to supervise online programming services, such as Netflix, that offer individual programs to subscribers. The bill confers significant powers on the CRTC but withdraws the power to supervise online distribution services at the very moment the major cable companies in Canada are preparing to offer Internet distribution services in conjunction with their established cable services.
This lack of supervision also affects global platforms such as Netflix, Amazon and Apple TV, which also offer distribution platforms that include applications and services provided by other businesses. Many of those, such as Pluto TV, also offer services including programming guides and linear content.
The CRTC currently has the power to ensure that Canadian services are fairly treated in this online environment. Bill C-10 eliminates that authority. The few changes that we have proposed will solve this problem.
Why is this regulatory authority so important?
As independent broadcasters, we know how essential it is to have fair access to distribution platforms. I will leave it to my colleague Joel Fortune to explain why the future of independent broadcasters and independent distributors depends on those amendments.